Pushing forward the DPP administration's pledge to build a nuclear-free nation, the Executive Yuan yesterday announced that it will earmark NT$3 billion every year to develop renewable energy and boost the energy-conservation industry.
According to a press release made available by the Cabinet's Committee for the Establishment of a Nuclear Free Home, which met yesterday afternoon, the decision was part of the action plan mapped out by the committee yesterday in the wake of the anti-nuclear convention held in June.
At the conference, discussion topics included strategies to phase-out nuclear energy, the decommissioning of existing nuclear plants, the adoption of renewable energy and the disposal of nuclear waste. The experiences of the US, Japan and Sweden were also presented.
In addition to research and development funds, the committee yesterday decided to ease legislation regulating land acquisition for wind power plants to boost the development of renewable energy.
To encourage the public to make use of solar power, the committee decided to earmark NT$166 million next year to subsidize solar systems in the nation's townships and schools. The fund would also be made available to those families interested in using solar heating systems. The committee hopes to see the number of families using solar heat increase from the current 12,000 to 20,000.
The committee also planned to complete the draft measure regarding the power generated by nuclear power plants and the supervision of such facilities by the end of the year.
To strengthen its research projects on energy technology, the Energy Commission under the Ministry of Economic Affairs will also increase its annual budget of next year by 12.47 percent.
Government agencies responsible for executing energy policies will expand to include the Environmental Protection Administration, the Ministry of Transportation and the Communication and Council of Agriculture.
Currently, Ministry of Economic Affairs, Ministry of the Interior and National Science Council are responsible for implementing the government's energy policies.
Death row inmate Huang Lin-kai (黃麟凱), who was convicted for the double murder of his former girlfriend and her mother, is to be executed at the Taipei Detention Center tonight, the Ministry of Justice announced. Huang, who was a military conscript at the time, was convicted for the rape and murder of his ex-girlfriend, surnamed Wang (王), and the murder of her mother, after breaking into their home on Oct. 1, 2013. Prosecutors cited anger over the breakup and a dispute about money as the motives behind the double homicide. This is the first time that Minister of Justice Cheng Ming-chien (鄭銘謙) has
Ferry operators are planning to provide a total of 1,429 journeys between Taiwan proper and its offshore islands to meet increased travel demand during the upcoming Lunar New Year holiday, the Maritime and Port Bureau said yesterday. The available number of ferry journeys on eight routes from Saturday next week to Feb. 2 is expected to meet a maximum transport capacity of 289,414 passengers, the bureau said in a news release. Meanwhile, a total of 396 journeys on the "small three links," which are direct ferries connecting Taiwan's Kinmen and Lienchiang counties with China's Fujian Province, are also being planned to accommodate
BITTERLY COLD: The inauguration ceremony for US president-elect Donald Trump has been moved indoors due to cold weather, with the new venue lacking capacity A delegation of cross-party lawmakers from Taiwan, led by Legislative Speaker Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜), for the inauguration of US president-elect Donald Trump, would not be able to attend the ceremony, as it is being moved indoors due to forecasts of intense cold weather in Washington tomorrow. The inauguration ceremony for Trump and US vice president-elect JD Vance is to be held inside the Capitol Rotunda, which has a capacity of about 2,000 people. A person familiar with the issue yesterday said although the outdoor inauguration ceremony has been relocated, Taiwan’s legislative delegation has decided to head off to Washington as scheduled. The delegation
TRANSPORT CONVENIENCE: The new ticket gates would accept a variety of mobile payment methods, and buses would be installed with QR code readers for ease of use New ticketing gates for the Taipei metro system are expected to begin service in October, allowing users to swipe with cellphones and select credit cards partnered with Taipei Rapid Transit Corp (TRTC), the company said on Tuesday. TRTC said its gates in use are experiencing difficulty due to their age, as they were first installed in 2007. Maintenance is increasingly expensive and challenging as the manufacturing of components is halted or becoming harder to find, the company said. Currently, the gates only accept EasyCard, iPass and electronic icash tickets, or one-time-use tickets purchased at kiosks, the company said. Since 2023, the company said it
RSS